Monday, November 07, 2005

Athens and the Vote

What civilizations do we value? From where do our values, as Americans, come from? Do we turn to the ancient Spartan? Do we turn to the Egyptians? Do we turn to the Syrians? We turn to Athens, ancient Greece. Where democracy was born.

What are the values of Athens? Knowledge and art are valued. Science, learning, libraries. Where are these values today? The current administration is attempting to dismantle our educational system. How can we run a democracy without an educated populace? The current administration does not value the arts - and what is it we value from ancient societies, aside from their art?

Where are the Republicans taking us? To a place where science holds no water? Where art is anathema. Where education is only for those who can afford it. Where torture is what Cheney advocates.

Each day that I look at America it looks less and less like the mighty civilization that our founding fathers envisioned and more like a desolate wasteland.